The American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024 will mark the 10th anniversary of the AACR’s NextGen Stars Program by welcoming in a class of 10 outstanding early-career scientists. Since 2014, the program has supported the professional advancement of graduate students, postdocs, and assistant professors by providing highly visible opportunities to present scientific findings at the Annual Meeting.

Hear from one of the newest NextGen Stars in their own words, below, and click here to read Q&As with other members of the NextGen Stars Class of 2024.

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Claire E. Thomas, PhD, MPH

AACR NextGen Stars Class of 2024
Postdoctoral Fellow
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington

Abstract Presentation:
NG07 – Association between somatic microsatellite instability, hypermutation status, and specific T cell subsets in colorectal cancer tumors

Session Details:
SY32 – Crosstalk within the Tumor Ecosystem
Tuesday, April 9, 10:15 – 11:45 a.m. PT
Room 30, Upper Level, Convention Center

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What is the subject of your research?
Tumors that have high microsatellite instability (MSI), where DNA mismatch repair genes are not functioning properly resulting in accumulation of genetic errors, are strongly associated with high T cell infiltration and have a favorable response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, it is not well known what specific T cell subsets are associated with MSI-high tumors. Using a multiplex immunofluorescence panel, we aimed to characterize T cell response in colorectal cancer tumors in relation to MSI-high status. Compared to tumors with MSI-low or microsatellite stable tumors, MSI-high tumors were strongly associated with higher T cell densities for all (naïve, memory, regulatory) epithelial area CD3 + CD4 + , epithelial area CD3 + CD8 + , and stromal area CD3 + CD8 + T cells (odds ratios around 2, adjusted p-values <0.001). A more granular understanding of T cell subsets that are associated with MSI may improve our understanding of underlying biology and inform immunotherapy treatment decision-making for the MSI-high subtype.

What sparked your interest in this area of research, and why is it important?
My interest in cancer research was originally sparked by the book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot. I’m specifically interested in integrative tumor epidemiology because integrating these different complex measures, such as immune profile, in large-scale epidemiologic studies with other risk factors like somatic mutation may help us disentangle the complex relationships of the immune response and cancer to better inform cancer prevention, survival, and treatment. The immune system is vast and complex, and the more specificity we have to understand different components, the better our understanding of associations between the immune system, risk factors, and tumor phenotypes.

What (or who) inspired you to apply for the NextGen Stars program?
I am so fortunate to be mentored primarily by two outstanding women: Dr. Ulrike (Riki) Peters and Dr. Amanda Phipps at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. They have been extremely supportive of me diving into new research areas and expanding my skillset, so when I forwarded them the email about the NextGen Stars application and asked for their opinion, they both told me to go for it.

What are you looking forward to as a member of the NextGen Stars?
I’m looking forward to meeting my fellow NextGen Stars at the Annual Meeting, and generally meeting with leaders in the field about how we can move the field of integrative tumor epidemiology, specifically regarding tumor immune profile, forward. Many of my peers as well as myself had to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic at a time of key development in our scientific training. For example, I was supposed to go to my first AACR meeting in the second year of my PhD program with a poster presentation in April 2020. As a result of the pandemic, I did not go to my first in-person AACR meeting until two weeks after my dissertation defense, so my peers and I are playing catch-up meeting each other and leaders in the field who can support our research moving forward. I’m very thankful to the AACR for this opportunity as well as their Integrative Molecular Epidemiology workshop that I attended in Boston last summer for providing me with the opportunities to get to know other researchers, and hopefully develop new ideas to improve cancer prevention.